The Anti-Trickster At Play: Representing First Nations Artists And Art In The Art Galleries And Museums Of Northern British Columbia Annette Catherine Schroeter B.Des., Open University of British Columbia and Emily Carr College of Art and Design, 1992 Graphic Design Major B.A., University of Northern British Columbia, 1997 Anthropology and History Majors Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements For The Degree Of Master Of Arts In First Nations Studies The University Of Northern British Columbia January 2008 © Annette Catherine Schroeter, 2008 Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-48819-5 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-48819-5 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform, et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. Canada Dedicated to my mother Harriet Tamar Schroeter who's love, faith and patience gently push me forward. 1 Thesis Abstract First Nations artists in Canada are currently engaged in a struggle to challenge a colonialist system which has largely ignored, rejected and minimized their contributions to the mainstream Canadian art discourse and society. The attempt to engage in this discourse is not the only issue here, but also a peoples' attempt to communicate inconsistencies and weaknesses in contemporary Canadian society that continue to erode the movement toward a just and equal reality (Battiste 2000b: xxii). A central area of turmoil is the public art galleries and museums as they have recently begun to deconstruct and redefine themselves since many of them have been challenged to address a colonialist system of oppression and destruction which they have contributed to and maintained. These are significant and pervasive sites in Canadian society with social, political and economic responsibilities to the communities in which they are situated. As a result, some of these art galleries and museums, through their work of programming and collecting, have actively engaged with the First Nation's struggle to revitalize and strengthen their cultural autonomy. 11 Table of Contents Thesis Abstract ii Table of Contents iiii List of Figures v Acknowledgements vi Chapter One 1 1 Introduction 1 2 Placing myself in this study 5 3 Research objectives 9 4 Relevance of research 14 5 Research design, methodology and theoretical framework 16 6 Art? 23 7 Museums? 26 8 Literature review 29 9 Organization of thesis 37 Chapter Two: First Nations Artists and Art Galleries and Museums of Northern BritishColumbia 38 1 First Nations artists of northern British Columbia 38 1.1 Peter George 38 1.2 Angelique Merasty Levac 44 1.3 YA'YA (Chuck) Heit 50 1.4 Rena Bolton 57 1.5 Garry Oker 63 2 Art Galleries and Museums in Northern British Columbia 70 2.1 Two Rivers Gallery: George Harris 70 2.2 The Exploration Place: Tracy Calegheros and Robert Campbell 79 2.3 'Ksan Historical Village and Museum: Laurel Mould 88 2.4 Museum of Northern British Columbia: Susan Marsden 99 2.5 Dawson Creek Art Gallery: Ellen Corea Ill Chapter Three: Discussion of the Challenges to Representation 119 1 First Nations art 123 1.1 "Anti-trickster" 125 1.2 The "Anti-trickster" at play 127 iii 1.3 Craft/souvenir/artifact/traditional art 149 2 First Nations artists of northern British Columbia 153 3 Relationships between local and regional_First Nations artists and art galleries and museums 158 3.1 Tokenism in art galleries and museums of northern British Columbia 166 3.2 Art gallery and museum board of directors 166 3.3 Permanent collections 169 3.4 Senses of art 170 4 Conclusion 171 Appendix 1 177 Appendix 2 178 Works Cited 178 IV List of Figures The photographs of the artists were provided by the artists and reproduced with their permission. All other photographs were taken by me, Annette C. Schroeter. Figure Description of Figures Page Figure 1 Peter George Spirit of Our Ancestors' (Kermode Spirit Bears in the City) 39 Figure 2 Angelique Levac 44 Figure 3 Ya'Ya (Chuck) Heit Catch of the Day 50 Figure 4 Rena Bolton 58 Figure 5 Garry Oker 64 Figure 6 Two Rivers Gallery, Prince George, British Columbia 71 Figure 7 The Exploration Place, Prince George, British Columbia 79 Figure 8 Entrance to 'Ksan Historical Village and Museum, Hazelton, British Columbia 89 Figure 9 Main building at 'Ksan 89 Figure 10 Museum of Northern British Columbia, Prince Rupert, British Columbia 99 Figure 11 Main Entrance, MNBC 99 Figure 12 Dawson Creek Art Gallery, Dawson Creek, British Columbia Ill v Acknowledgements I had the privilege of having many people involved throughout the development, research and creation of this work. I would like to begin by thanking the talented and committed artists, Peter George, Angeline Levac, Ya'Ya (Chuck) Heit, Rena Bolton and Garry Oker, who are dedicated to their identities and communities as they struggle to keep alive their respective cultures and traditions. In addition, I would like to thank the art gallery and museum personnel, George Harris, Laurel Mould, Ellen Corea, Tracy Calagheros, Bob Campbell and Susan Marsden. All of these people took time out of their busy schedules to speak to me with serious and open minds. Their words shaped this work and invigorate the ideas and debates in this area of study. Thank you also to my committee members, co-supervisor, Dr. Heather Harris, co- supervisor, Dr. Antonia Mills and Dr. Michel Bouchard who patiently waited for this work to come into existence. Without your guidance and support I could not have accomplished what I have. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the Northern Nishnawbe Education Council whose extended financial support has allowed me to dedicate this period of my life to this work. The people working within this organization have the immense and challenging task of making sure as many First Nations students as possible are educated with increasingly limited resources. Additional financial support also came from the University of Northern British Columbia and the Bill Reid Foundation. As a student with extremely limited resources I cannot stress enough the need for the financial assistance for research and study in areas of discourse which does not benefit from the interested popularity of other areas of art and history. I also would like to specially thank my family and friends. My parents, Harriet and Albert Schroeter, have supported me over a very lengthy period of time while I attempted to develop a career in the visual arts. My mother invested in me her strong, unshakeable belief in my work which gave me the emotional strength to keep moving forward. My good friend Andra Bismanis has also been a strong advocate of my work and with her open heart and mind she is willing to understand and accept the shortcomings of her previous education. Finally, thank you to my friends who listened, advised, prodded and/or contributed to this project, Dawn Dunstan, Pam Flagel, Laverne Gervais, Laura Aguilera, Karyn Sharp and Catherine Siermacheski. The commitment to valuing this work and First Nations perspectives and understandings has given me hope that our world can change. vi Chapter One it's ironic that i feel out of place and this discomfort is based on race - my home, my "native land" is filled with cities, buildings, pavement - chevrolets, and political engagements pulp mills in sound locations, deflowered forests - and then, there's the strategically located reservations - this is where i belong, if i adhered to proper placement because my mere existence results from a glitch in the plan to dissipate, and assimilate - but brown skin...simply won't erase and years slipped by, and residential schools and government legislation could not "correct" the problem of the indian population. so decades later, here is my struggle: day by day i carry on, mourning the half of my culture that's gone1 (Runningwater) Dawn Dunstan (2006) 1 Introduction As I turn my heart and my mind into the past I can see that the relationships between First Nations and non-First Nations in Canada have been troubled and I'm concerned about our futures.